Hidden Truth
by scarybook13
Summary: While out fighting the powerful yokai, Kuchisake-onna, Kitaro discovers a secret that might change his life and relationship with his father. (This is just a little what if head-cannon I came up with. I might change kitaro's powers since he is pretty overpowered. But I hope this will be a fun little addition to this sparse fandom.)
1. Chapter 1

It was a quiet night on the streets of Tokyo, Japan. In one residential neighborhood, you could hear the sharp clop-clop of wooden genta echoing through the short side street; a small boy who looked no more than 12 dressed in a middle school boy's blue uniform and black and yellow vest is scanning the street for something, all while looking slightly bored. Kitaro sighs as he thinks to himself that this was a big waste of time. He had gotten a letter in the mail that morning from a boy saying that a yokai called Kuchisake Onna was killing children coming from school. Kitaro asked his father who she was and he explained that this yokai was originally a vain human woman with a very jealous husband. One night her husband took a knife and slit her mouth from ear to ear; for the crime of unfaithfulness. Stricken by grief and horror, she took her own life and became a vengeful yokai, slashing and killing any humans that crossed her path. Now, Kitaro was staking out the neighborhood where she was last seen, but he left his father behind since Oyaji had caught a small head cold from bathing in his bath for too long. So he asked Neko Musume to watch him. Before he left, his father warned him that she was a cunning spirit. Kitaro was not too worried about this yokai, she did not sound particularly dangerous since all her attacks were done with a standard knife. Then Kitaro heard another sound beside his genta.

Click.

Click.

Click.

It was the sound of high heeled shoes.

Around the corner of the street before him, a tall woman in a long brown trench coat and red high heel shoes came out. Kitaro stared at the woman suspiciously, knowing that rumors of the yokai were keeping young women off the streets that night. As she got closer, Kitaro could see that the woman, who was wearing a white surgical mask, was very beautiful. She had long dark hair that cascaded down her face. Her eyes looked wise and life worn but still held a youthful and determined spark. Kitaro did not feel any yokai energy from this woman, so he relaxed and moved aside to let her pass. As she came up to his side, she cleared her throat.

"Excuse me."

Kitaro looked over to her.

̈ ̈Yes?

She stopped down to his height; her dark amber eyes glinting in the light.

̈ ̈Am I pretty?

Kitaro, wanting to be polite replied

Yes.

The woman chuckled at this.

"̈You liar. If you ́re really going to be dedicated to this rude joke of yours then let me ask you this...

She pulled off her mask and Kitaro looked on in horror at the ghastly jagged split stretching from each corner of her mouth, her needle like teeth glistened through gash.

̈ ̈Am i pretty now?

Kitaro immediately gets into his battle stance

̈ ̈Kuchisake Onna!

Kitaro scans his opponent for anything threatening, all the while backing up slowly. She did not seem to have anything. In fact, he could not sense any yokai energy from her at all. Which he found odd. In one quick motion, she whips out a long butcher knife from her coat and runs at him. Kitaro doges her swings with ease. Did she have any powers at all? Wanting to end this fight quickly, Kitaro shoots out his hair needles; hiting the hand with the knife. She yelled out in pain and drops her knife. Kitaro then grabs her arm and pins it behind her back.

"̈Kuchisake-onna. I won't harm you, if you stop killing the humans.

Then Kitaro sees something that he wasn't expecting. A smile.

̈ ̈Predictable boy.

In a flash, Kitaro is yanked away from her by an unseen force and nailed to the wall of the apartment behind him. Dazed and shocked he looks to see what has grabbed him. Purple-redish knives of yokai energy, pulsing with light, pin Kitaro ́s clothes to the wall, keeping him stuck there. The boy is confused. His yokai antenna should have caught her energy signature. How did she hide it? Was she somehow concealing her energy to get the jump on him? If so, then how did she know about his antenna? He struggles to get out, but it's no use. She walks up to him with a very annoyed and disappointed look on her face.

"̈Such a rude thing to say. You should know by now how sensitive I am about my looks.

̈ ̈What are you talking about?

Don't play dumb. We've done this so many times, I could even beat you in my heels. And you still haven't changed your moves. That sort of laziness in skills makes you a very dull and dead opponent.

̈ ̈What?! I don't know you.

Kuchisake gives him an inquisitive look. Then her face goes from confusion to realization as she claps her hands and says: ̈Oh, I must have been one of the memories he erased. Ahhh. That makes so much sense, now.

Kitaro is confused.

̈ ̈What are you saying? Why are you acting like you know me?

Oh, I know all about you, deary. You're GeGeGe No Kitaro, fighter for humans and yokais, lives with your father Medama Oyaji…..

Kitaro gives her an annoyed frown.

"̈Everyone knows that.

"̈Oh, then does everyone know about your hair needles, your spirit chanchanko,which is made from the hairs of your ancestors, that protects you, your flying genta, finger guns, and internal electricity powers? Because you'll notice that you can't use them. My knives have the ability to lock any yokai energy in. Has no one really thought about doing this?

Kitaro goes pale as he realizes that she is right. His powers weren't working. Even his chanchanko was not working. How could this be? Kitaro stares at the woman with a dread filled heart. _How does she know about my attacks? About my chanchanko?̈ ̈ _His unease increases when Kuchisake starts to go into detail about most of his personal life. Both the good and the bad.

I also know that when you were a young boy you lost your temper and massacred a whole….

̈ ̈ENOUGH!

Kitaro, shaking with anger and fear asks, ̈How do you know all this?

Kuchisake holds up two fingers and starts to count down.

"̈Firstly, I know your fighting style because I've fought you many times before. Secondly, you're mother told me the rest."

Kitaro ́s eyes grew wide.

_My mother?_

The slit mouthed woman sighs. This is just sad on so many levels. Well, I'll be off now. For the record, I only scared a couple of kids just to bring you here so I could see Iwako's son. I also might have attacked some wise mouthed teenagers, but you can't tell me they didn't deserve it. Oh,God I'm rambling, I better go. I need to watch my stories." She then jumps onto the nearest apartment roof and starts to leap away. Kitaro shouts out to her. "Wait! Why don't I remember you?"

In the distance, she calls back to him.

"Ask your father!"

When she disappears so do her knives and kitaro drops down to the ground, happy to be free. He stood there in the alleyway shaking like a leaf, his mind racing with many questions but only one sticks out to him.

"_What just happened?"_


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, the sun shone through the thick foliage of Gegege forest. From far and wide, resting yokai rubbed the sleep from their eyes, ate breakfast ,and headed off to start a new day. But in a little treehouse over a lake, Kitaro had been up for a fair portion of the night; not having slept a wink since his encounter with Kuchisake onna and her ominous words. The boy is staring out the window of his home, watching the still lake. "_Can this be true? Have I really met Kuchisake before? Then why can't I remember?"_ He thought. Kitaro was going to ask his father about it when he came home, but he was already asleep and Kitaro didn't want to wake him. So he sat by the window and thought about Kuchisake's words. Especially the ones concerning his mother. She talked about her like she was still alive, but his father had told him that she died before giving birth to him. This led the boy to wonder why his father never talked about his mother.

_"Maybe it's too painful for Tou-san to talk about it."_He thought.

But deep down a very sad voice in his brain said:

_"Or he didn't want you to think that her death was your fault."_

The boy pushed away the thought. He knew that if he went down that dark hole again then he'll end up lying in his hut the whole day; his mind already running every scary question and regret like a movie reel. He usually cried during these moments. His friends and father thought he was just being lazy but he rather they believe that then them see him like this. He took a deep breath and whispered quietly to himself,

"I'm fine."

"I'm fine."

"I'm fine."

Over and over again until the thought went away.

He sighed in relief, glad that the attack was over. "I have to keep it together. Try to think good thoughts…I wonder what she looked like. Does she have dark hair like mine. Eyes like mine? Was she nice or…." A small voice interrupts Kitaro's train of thought.

"Oi, Kitaro!"

Kitaro turns to see the small daddy eyeball wrapping up his little tatami mat and blanket. Kitaro being the good son says replies: " Ah, Good morning Tou-san."

Oyaji nods in approval.

"Let's start the day with a good breakfast. You must be starving from that fight last night."

"Yes. Tou-san."

Kitaro quickly makes Oyaji a bowl of rice with some dried fish. He didn't have much of an appetite, so he only made one bowl for his dad and just had some tea to calm his nerves. As his father ate his meal, he looked over at his son, noticing that he didn't have any breakfast. "Aren't you going to eat?" Oyaji asked.

"I'm not that hungry." Kitaro replies.

Oyaji's one eye brings forth a surprising amount of fatherly concern.

"Do you feel sick, Kitaro? Is your head hurting? Stomach aching? Do you feel hot? Should I call Sunake-Babba?"his father rambled, while running to his son to see if he had a fever.

"Tou-san, I'm fine. I'm not sick. I'm just not in the mood for eating right now…" The boy says, trying to smile but his eyes telling another story.

" Then what's wrong?"

Kitaro looks into his father's eye. It always surprised him how his father was able to project so much emotion as a sentient eyeball. His father's eye spoke of so much worry and love for his son, that it drove kitaro's horrible thought away because he knew that his father loved him unconditionally. So kitaro tells his father about Kuchisake onna's knowledge of his attacks. Oyaji, who was climbing into his teacup for his daily soak, says: " Kuchisake is very good at psyching out a person mentally and analyzing her opponents skills. She uses her exceptional observation skills to trick her opponents in to believing that she can beat them ease. Be cautious next time, kitaro. She is not like those over emotional yokai you usually fight. While they get sloppy because they are blinded by rage, Kuchisake coldly calculates her every move to counter her opponent's attack."

Oyaji makes a motion with his hand for Kitaro to fill the tub. The boy does as he is told. As he fills up the tiny sake cup, the boy addresses his father with his final concern.

"She says that shes met me numerous times before. What did she mean by that?"

It was right then that Kitaro saw a change in his father's eye that shocked him to the very core of his being. Medama Oyaji first looked surprised and then his face quickly shifted into anger. But this was not a typical funny angry that he had seen in his father before.

This was pure wrath.

For the most briefest moment, his father eye held a rage so terrifying that it made Kitaro's heart skip a beat. Then his eye changed back into his father's normal wise look. "She was just messing with you, Kitaro. Ignore her." With that his father let out a sigh and submerged his tiny body into the warm water. Kitaro took this moment to leave his hunt to get the mail, feel slightly uncomfortable by the conversation. His father had never looked that mad in his life. It was so sudden, like he was mad by what she said. And the way he just went back to his normal demeanor and casually dismissed the statement was really odd. _"Could this mean that Tou-san…"_ Kitaro did not even want to finish that thought. As he walked over to the mailbox, he felt that for the first time in his life his dad was hiding something from him. Kitaro looks inside the mailbox to see a few letters inside but then is taken aback when he sees a letter pinned to the back by a pair of scissors. He takes the letter and reads it. Its from Kuchisake onna telling him to come meet him at an old café at 10:00 today. He rereads the letter, wondering if this was a trap of some kind. _"If it is should I tell Tou- san about it?"_ He thought. But then he thought back to that moment in the hunt. His father had lied to him, he could see it in his eye. If he brought this letter to him, who knows what he would do to hide this issue. An issue that concerned his mom…... He decided to go meet up with her.

…...

Kitaro arrived at the Stardust coffee shop at mid morning. The inside of the place is nice and cozy, an old song that Kitaro remembers from the 80s is playing on the cafe speakers. The wall of the café is covered in colorful pictures of both Japanese and American celebrities.

Kitaro sees Kuchisake-Onna in a booth near the back.

She is dressed in a cherry red dress and a dark jean jacket. Her long dark hair fell across her shoulders like a waterfall. Her surgical mask covered the bottom half of her face, showing off her deep amber eyes. If Kitaro did not know better, he would have thought that was a normal woman, not a fierce and cold monster. Then he sees her take off her mask to reveal her jagged crudely cut mouth. He slides into their booth while she drinks from the fresh steaming coffee. Kuchisake, seeing that her contact has arrived, removes the cup from her thin jagged lips. "Order whatever you like. It's on me."

Even though Kitaro felt uneasy with this rendezvous, he ordered some almond cookies and a chamomile tea. _"Just to keep up my strength."_ He thought. When the food arrived, the two ate in silence; an odd but catchy melody about a psycho killer dances around the cafe. Kitaro figures that he should ask the first question but before he could ask, Kuchisake speaks up. " I didn't think you would actually meet me. What made you change your mind?" Kitaro, trying not to look startled by her question, continues. " That's not important. Now, I'm going to ask you the same question I asked last night. How do you know me? Kuchisake replies. "And I'll tell you again. We have fought 3 times already. First time was because I was terrorizing school children because a few of those brats made fun of my mouth." She touches her jagged scars, self consciously. Her face shifting from anger to shame. "Even after all these years, I still can't take…. ." She shakes her head as if to wake up from the memory. "Anyway the second time we fought, I was cutting down known sex offenders, pedophiles, and other horrible men. Though if you ask me, I still think they deserved it. But you thought otherwise. Then of course, you should remember the third time, which was yesterday." Kitaro carefully analyzed her face as she told him all this. She did not seem to be lying. "But that can't be. I don't remember your face at all and it does not make sense for you to know about my early childhood and…..that incident. How did you know about that?"

"Why, through your mother of course."

Kitaro's face goes even more serious. "Kuchisake, you are lucky that I'm not an easily angered yokai because if I was, I would send you to hell for telling such a lie." Kuchisake, looking unimpressed with Kitaro's serious manner, replies. " If you did send me to hell, then you would not be able to know where your mom is now would you? And to answer how she knows about your early life, Iwako kept very close tabs on you even when your father tried to make sure that she didn't."

" What does Tou-san have to do with this?"

"Well he was the one who made sure you never saw your mother and even if you did he would make sure you wouldn't remember seeing her."

Kitaro, feeling the heat rise to his face, retorted. " Oi, Tou-san loved my mom, so I know that's not true. And even if she was alive, how can he take away my memory of her?" Kuchisake sighed and signaled to their server. "Bring me an ice tea, please."

The female yokai rubbed her temples, her eyebrows furrowed. She looked like she had been dreading this explanation.

"Ok, Kitaro. I'm just going to give it to you straight. Iwako, me, and a few other associates of ours believe that your father might have had a spell put on you to keep you young forever. The memory loss might have some connection to how it works."

Kitaro stares at her in disbelief. The cafe becomes quiet, the music having stopped for a moment. Then the boy's face changes to amused annoyance.

"Is this some kind of joke?" He asks.

"It's true though. In a previous fight I took some of your hair and I had a witch analyze it. She found traces of a hybrid spell. A very fascinating blend of a long life spell and the forget me spell. We don't quite know how to break it…..." Kitaro cuts her off and starts to get up. "This is getting annoying. The joke wasn't even funny the first time."

"It's not a joke, kitaro. Haven't you noticed anything weird about yourself and your father?

Kitaro, deadpanned, says "I'm a yokai boy that lives with an eyeball for a father and I talk with a washcloth and a sentient wall. Weirdness is pretty regular for me."

Kuchisake rolls her eyes at the sarcastic remark and replies. "I can see that. But haven't you wondered why you don't age? Even though you are a yokai and they are known to live forever, most yokai still age. They just do it much slower. And what about your father? Haven't you ever wondered why he doesn't talk about your mom at all? Has he ever even taken you to visit her grave?

"What if I'm just similar to the zashiki warashi? They don't age. Also maybe it hurts for Tou-san to talk about mom since she's dead. Now, tell me the truth since what you told me before was obviously a lie. How do you know my moves?"

"Oh, my god! I just told you! We fought 3 times already" says a very exasperated Kuchisake.

"That's impossible!"

She gets up suddenly.

"This is pointless. You want me to prove it to you, fine. I'll present you with two pieces of evidence."

Kitaro saw two flashes of metal before jumping back with a shout, knocking hard in to the table .

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?!"

Kuchisake held up her hand which had a clump of hair.

His hair.

Kitaro touched the sides of his head to feel that kuchisake had cut his hair to about ear length.

"Relax, I didn't even nick you."

Then she took her own long silky hair and cut it to about the length of a long bob. Kitaro looked at this strange woman. Was she completely insane?

"How is this suppose to prove your point?" He asked. Kuchisake, brushing the leftover tresses from her shoulders, says. "It takes a good while for a human hair to grow back, but for yokai it takes about 2 months. If your hair grows back within the next hour then that means that you are under the influence of that spell I was talking about. How the spell works is that it keeps its vector in the exact same state as they were when the spell was cast. So if I'm right, your hair should go back to its usually length within an hour or two." Kitaro tugged on his hair gently, clearly uncomfortable with this change. He liked his medium length hair. Without it, the bottom half of his face felt exposed and vulnerable. No one knew this but Kitaro was extremely self conscious about two parts of his body. One being his ears, he always felt like they were floppy and far too big for his head. The second part was his missing eye. Anytime his eye was exposed, he felt nervous and shy. He started feeling that way about his eye when he went to school and all of the other children would either look at it in disgust or laugh at him. It was the most ugly part of him and he did not want anyone to see it. His mind began to go down a dark spiral again as he thought about the time when Mana saw his empty eye socket. He could never forget how she looked at him._ " She probably felt sorry for me."_

How pathetic.

"What's the second piece of evidence?" He asked, messing with his hair. Kucisake walks over to the cafe exit. "Follow me."

By the time the two yokai left the cafe, it was already the middle of the afternoon. Which meant that most working adults were out and about for lunch, making the already busy streets of Tokyo even busier. As Kitaro followed the urban yokai, he continued to ask more questions.

"How do you know that I have a spell on me?"

"I have trained with mages in order to master my yokai power. It's just simply a matter of knowing what to do with the energy inside of you and having enough imagination to manifest it into any form you want. When I first saw you, I could sense a foreign energy mixed in with your aura but I didn't quite know what it was. But when I told some mages that specialize in energy analytics, they were able to discern your curse."

"Why are you calling it a curse?"

"Well, let's see. You have immortality but you randomly lose precious memories as a cost. I think that fits pretty well into the curse category."

Kitaro let out a frustrated growl, his head aching from trying to understand all of this information. None of this made any sense. How could this be possible? He did not believe it was true. It couldn't be true. This whole thing was too absurd even for him.

_"But why is my heart pounding so much? Were my hands always this sweaty?"_ He thought.

Kuchisake notices the visible distress on the boys face. "You are confused. I'm sorry, I might have been a little bit too direct. She did tell me to explain this to you slowly."

"Who?"

"Iwako, your mother."

Kitaro's eyes widen at that statement. By now, the two yokai had now exited the city to the deep woods. But Kitaro hardly noticed, he was only focused on Kuchisake like a child watching their favorite cartoon. "What does this have to do with my mother. How can she be alive? What she like? When can I see her?" Kitaro fires out each question rapidly, wanting answers. Kuchisake surprised by the sudden curiosity looks down at the boy. He seems so childlike now. His face displaying multiple emotions.

Surprise.

Sadness.

Joy.

Curiosity.

And hope.

She smiled at this. Like this, he looked so much like Iwako. "Your mother is one of the mages that specializes in energy analysis….." Kitaro abruptly interrupted her. "My mother is a mage?! I thought she was a yokai of the Ghost Tribe." Kuchisake, frowning slightly at being interrupted, replies. "Your mother married into the Ghost Tribe, she's what humans in the west would call a witch." Kitaro speaks up again, his eyes growing wider with amazement.

"Are you saying that I'm half witch?"

"Technically, male magic users would be considered warlocks or wizards if you want to be pretentious. But yes."

"Whoa….. Why didn't Tou-san tell me this?"

"Probably because he didn't want you to start asking questions about your mother, and even if he did tell you, he wouldn't know how to teach you to use it properly. Now if you are done interrupting me, I would like to tell you more about your mother. We'll be here all night if I start lecturing you on the concepts of mage magic."

Kitaro blushes slightly in embarrassment. "Sorry. Continue."

Kuchisake clears her throat before speaking. "Anyway, when I told your mother about your odd aura she asked me to go get a sample. When I went back to her with one she went to work immediately. When saw it was a hybrid spell, she contacted a few friends to help her find a way to break it. So far that's a work in progress. As for who she is, your mother is one of the most talented, determined, and kindest women I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. I know this because your mother and I are roommates. She brought me into her apartment when I was in a very bad place. I was so angry with everything and everyone. Especially men. Your mother taught me that the world has its share of good and bad people and to not let the ugliness of the world take away you joy. When she told me about you and her husband, I made it my mission that if I ever saw you without your father, I would bring you two together. She loves you so much, Kitaro; and she misses you terribly." Tears start to well up in the young boys eyes. In that moment, Kitaro hoped that this was not a lie. God, he wished with all his heart that it wasn't. The moment passed when they reached a wide valley. A small hut and a familiar well sat in the middle. A few feet away from the well was what looked to be a small garden with a large variety of herbs and other strange looking plants. "

"We're here."

Kuchisake walks past the well and knocks on the door of the hut.

No answer.

She tries again, harder this time. The woman sighs deeply then yells.

"Come out here, you old well hobo! You've got company."

The duo turned around when they hear a grumpy sounding voice coming from the well behind them. The indistinct voice turns into muttering and cursing as whatever is in the well starts making their way up to its lip. A twig like hand grabs the edge and an odd looking yokai pulls himself out. He looked like the result of a tree and a bug eyed tree frog's regretful one night stand. Kuchisake forces herself to smile politely at the creature.

"Good afternoon, Ido Sennin." She says.

Ido Sennin replies. "It was good until you came in, you sadistic, vain cow." Kuchisake, still sweetly smiling, replies. "It's always a joy to drop in, you moldy dead tree fiend." Kitaro did not really understand what was happening here. Kuchisake knew Ido Sennin? It did make sense since Ido came highly recommended if you were ill or injured. Even Kitaro himself had gone to see Ido a few times in the past with his father, but none of those times were enjoyable. While Ido would patch him up after a particularly intense fight, he would always berate Kitaro or his father with insults and snide remarks. This led to his father having many arguments with the hermit. Ido took his gaze off of the female yokai and looks over at the boy. "Oh, you brought the meathead." He says, his tone sounding bored and annoyed. Kitaro bristled slightly at the very blunt insult. Kuchisake, wanting to cut to the chase, says. "Ido, do you remember what we discussed in regards to him?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Well, I believe now is the time to tell him."

Ido goes silent, looking at both of them with pure annoyance and aggravation. He turns back to the well and begins to crawl back down. "Damned to hell, I'm not high enough for this idiocy."


	3. Ch3

Chapter 3

Warning: This chapter includes use of cannabis. If this offends you, please leave the story.

A hazy and odd smelling smoke blankets the inside of the little hut of Ido Sennin. Kitaro, Kuchisake, and Ido Sennin are sitting on well-worn mats; a small hole that serves as a cooking area divides the duo from their host. The well yokai is inhaling a citrusy yet earthy smelling smoke from a long pipe, a dreamy smile spread over his face as he breathes it out. Ido does not move or even opens his eyes. He just sits there and smiles peaceful. This is the happiest Kitaro had ever seen the usually ornery yokai. After a few minutes of silence, Kitaro decides to break it, thinking Ido had forgotten their presence."Oi, why does that smoke smell funny?" Ido opens his eyes slowly like he had just woken up from a nice dream. The smile turns into his usual grimace when he looks at the boy.

"Oh, I forgot you idiots were still here."

Ido Sennin holds out the pipe to Kitaro. "This is just some medicine I take to tolerate other living creatures."

He takes another hit as Kuchisake rolls her eyes, looking even more annoyed than Ido.

"Are you baked enough yet? Because I tried to tell him the truth but he still won't believe me."

Ido snorts. "So what if the little idiot still wants to live a lie? Big deal.If that's the way he wants to live then why should I be the one to ruin his delusion and take away his blissfully ignorant happiness?"

"Because you are an asshole who loves to slap people with the harshness of reality."

Ido shrugged in agreement. "True.'

Ido laid his pipe down beside him, using an old bottle cap to plug its base. "Okay, first question do you remember me?" Kitaro nodded. "Yes. You've been my medic for quite awhile and Tou-san talks about you a lot."

"Probably just to whine about me. But do you remember if you've seen me in your younger years?" Ido san asks. Kitaro rubs his chin, trying to recall.

"I don't think so."

Ido replies. "Well, then what would you say if I told you that I've known you since you were about 7 yokai years old?" Kitaro lets loose a slight gasp. But the boy quickly becomes stern.

"Ido-san, that's impossible."

Ido replies.

"Its true, though."

" But if that was true, then that means you've….."

" Seen how much of a twisted little troll you were back in your younger years? Yes, I do remember that.'

"But how?"

"Yokai doctors are hard to come by in this area. Especially ones that have experience with hybrids. Your father was quite clueless on your development, so he needed my expertise. But even to this day, I am still shocked that he could go through with this…...task."

Kitaro did not like where this was going.

"Are you sure your no-"

Ido cuts him off. "Just listen to what I know, boy. Kuchi, you listen up too. After years of study, I now know how the spell works. The immortality spell needs a constant source of sustenance in order to keep functioning. That is where the amnesia spell comes in. The amnesia spell act as a storage place for memories; stock piling them until the caster of the spell or the master sorts through them and decides which of the memories to keep and which to throw away. But they must get rid of a year's worth of memories in order for the immortality spell to kick in. It weirdly makes sense though. In order for your body to stay the way it is, your mind must also stay the same." Kitaro clenched his hands into fists, the unease in his stomach growing.

Ido picked up his pipe and took a long hit.

"Let me tell you how this happened. Your father brought me over to your home about 50 years ago. You were a sobbing blubbering mess on the floor. You wouldn't stop crying, kept screaming sorry over and over again, and would be overcome by intense panic attacks. I asked Oyaji what happened and he told me that there was a horrible accident. That was all your father would tell me and I only found out about what happened from other witnesses. I gave you some herbal sedatives to calm down and you eventually went to sleep. Then Oyaji took me aside and asked if I could make a spell to erase the memory from your mind. Of course I told Oyaji that it was a terrible idea. You needed to come to terms with what happened and get help. But he wouldn't listen. Then the big crybaby started going on about how he wanted things to go back to the way they were and about how he wanted you to stay his little boy forever. I did not pay to much attention to his blubbering because I thought he was just being dramatic. So, I gave Oyaji some calming herbs for both him and you. Before I left, I told him not to do anything stupid. A few weeks later, I came over to make sure you had not died or anything.' Ido san smiled for a moment. "Guess the old habits of a physician die hard. Anyway, I went to the hut and who do i find low and behold happily talking with his father but the once majorly depressed and hysterical idiot. Now, I've healed war veterans in the old days, so I know damn well that one doesn't just bounce back from trauma that quickly. I asked you about how you were feeling and you said fine. I asked about the accident, but you gave me this funny look and asked what I was talking about. Oyaji, of course never liking me, told me to go home. When I followed him outside to ask him what was going on, he told me to never bring up the accident again." Kuchisake looked over at the boy, who was now looking down at the floor; His hands clenching and unclenching nervously. "Do you remember kitaro? About what happened in that village?" She asked. Kitaro, not wanting to meet her eyes, and nodded. "I was a different person back then. I didn't mean to let the water god out, I was just so tired of being poor and hungry all the time. So I went to collect money from the water god for a loan shark I was working for at the time. Then the water god retaliated by trying to kill me. I was so fixated on my saving my own life that I didn't even care about who the water god would kill to get me. I still think about it sometime...a whole town killed because of my own greed and selfishness." The room was silent as Ido and Kuchisake looked at the boy in confusion. Ido san spoke up. "That was not the massacre I was referring, kitaro." Kuchisake's hands flew to her mouth as if realizing something horrible.

"You don't remember… Do you?"

"Remember what?" Kitaro asked, feeling like his heart was about to leap out of his chest.

Ido cut in.

"You lost control of your powers and destroyed an entire village."

Kitaro's face went pale.

"Ido!" Kuchisake scolded. "Have you no sense of tact?"

"Oi, there isn't an easy way to break this. Why must you youths today beat around the bush and avoid the unpleasant news. It's not like ignoring it will make it go away."

Kitaro had enough.

With his heart hammering in his chest, he shot up from his spot and yelled. "Your lying! This has to be some kind of mean joke that you and Kuchisake are playing! I would never destroy another village after what happened with the water god! I promised myself that I would never do something like that ever again. I can't believe you think I would fall for this! Did you really expect me to believe the words of some old bastard that even my own father doesn't like?!"

Both yokai went silent as they stared at Kitaro with a mixture of shock and interest.

Kuchisake was the first to break her gaze. She sighed heavily with a mixture of sadness and weariness. Ido continued to ogle, clearly fascinated by what he saw. "Huh, It grew back much quicker than I thought. I didn't even notice the change at all until now."

Kitaro looked back and forth between the two yokai in confusion. "What are you talking about? Why are you all staring at me?"

Kuchisake reached into her coat pocket and brought out a makeup mirror. "See for yourself."

Kitaro took it and raised the mirror to his face.

What he saw nearly made him almost drop it.

His hair had grown back to its original length. He scans himself in shock; his head quickly snaps over to Kuchisake. Her hair was still cut short.

"Its true."

The boy shuffled his feet slow to the left wall of the hut, his mind trying to rationalize this whole situation. But it all came back to the grim possibility that maybe this was all true.

The yokai boy sank to his knees as his mind raced like cars on a highway. As his heart beat rapidly increased, the boy panted heavily. He felt like the air had been sucked right out of his body, leaving him a small crumbled sack. He desperately tried to make sense of it all. "But it can't be. Tou-san wouldn't do this to me. Stealing my memories in order to keep me young. It can't be true…..It just can't……..Is it?" He was so caught up in his thoughts, H

he didn't notice that Kuchisake was lightly hugging him and caressing his hair, until she whispered softly:

"I'm so sorry."

Normally, Kitaro found hugs to be uncomfortable. But right now he felt like Kuchisake's embrace was the only force in the world keeping him from breaking apart like glass. Kitaro buried his head into her coat, hoping that the darkness that came with it would mean that this was all a horrible dream he could wake up from. Ido continued speaking, oblivious to the mood. "Would anyone like to know anything about the spell and how to break it?" Kuchisake replies, still caressing the boy's hair. "Sorry Ido, please go on."

Kitaro just nods numbly. "As I was saying, Kitaro's weird behavior led me to investigate the matter further, that's how I ran into Kuchisake-onna and your mother. Your mother analyzed the aura of your hair and came to the conclusion that you had been cursed with a fusion of an immortality spell and an amnesia spell. Then with deeper research, I have discovered that this spell has to be cast repeatedly on the victims date of birth. With each recasting, memories from that year and before are erased. So if we don't allow the spell to be recast on your birthday, then you will finally age normally." Kitaro nodded numbly once again in understanding. Kuchisake peered down at the boy with concern. "Ido, can we have a moment alone?" The old hermit nods his head and goes outside to get more of his special medicine. Kitaro still had his face buried in her coat, avoiding her gaze. Kuchisake gently lifts up the boy's head to see his face. His face was wet with tears and his one eye was wide with shock and desperation. When he spoke, his voice shook "This…...It ...can't be true. Tou-san loves me…. He wouldn't do this. This is insane. My Tou-san would never do something like this. This has to be a mistake."

Kuchisake's heart twinges at this display. This was going to be rough. "Kitaro, your father does love you. But in light of everything, maybe he loved you a little too much. You see, when a person loves someone, they can do very unpleasant things to protect them. Your father probably thought that he was protecting you from the hardship of growing up. But you should know that what he went about it the wrong way" That word rang in Kitaro's head like a bell.

Wrong.

Wrong.

Wrong.

The word sounded so ugly in relation to his father. Medama Oyaji was a good and wise yokai. He couldn't do something like this. Not his Tou-san. This whole thing sounded like a villainous plan created by evil yokai he would fight. His father was not like them. He was not evil. He was…..

Suddenly, the two heard a loud commotion coming from outside. It sounded like Ido was yelling at someone and that someone yelling back sounded like……

Kitaro jumps up and runs outside with Kuchisake following close behind. They both see a ratish and extremely dirty looking man running around the field with a sack of very odd looking buds on his shoulders. He was desperately dodging the wrathful swings of Ido's staff as he yelled at the old hermit to stop.

"Nezumi Otoko!"

Said man looks over to the direction of the voice and smiles with relief. Nezumi Otoku stops running and wave to his old friend." Oi, Kitaro! What perfect timing. Can you do a good friend a favor and tell this……" Before nezumi could finish his sentence Kitaro, who had already ran up to the ratty man, grabbed him by the collar of his grungy hood and pulled Nezumi down to eye level. Nezumi yelped in alarm and was about to yell at the boy. But he stopped when he saw Kitaro's face. His cheeks were wet with tears and his one good eye was bloodshot red like he had been crying. But what really made Nezumi Otoko fearful was the story that his eye told. Kitaro eye had widen like frogs eyes and it teemed with a manic and unstable energy that looked so foreign on the normally stoic boy's face. As the boy took in deep shaky breathes, he spoke. "Nezumi otoko. You know me right? We met when I was a little shit that conned people just like you." Then wide eyed boy started to giggle uncharacteristically. His laugh sounding like nails on a chalkboard. Nezumi shivered as that shrill and scratchy cackle brought back dark memories of a crueler more sadistic version of his friend to surface. He tries to pry himself away from Kitaro, but the boy's grip was immovable. "We hated each other, even though we were so much alike. You'd cheat me out of my schemes. I'd cheat you out of yours. HeheheheheHeheHe. And despite all of that, we are still able to eat ramen together. You are the closest thing I have to a best friend, Nezi. So, you must remember everything about me, right? Kitaro continued to smile even wider; tears flowed from his eye and his hands shook violently. "Well, I need you to tell me Nezi, I was only responsible for slaughtering one village because I angered a water god, right? That's the only village, right?" Kitaro's smile tightened at this question, like it was going to split his face. Nezumi, thoroughly freaked out, pushes the boy off of him with all his strength. It was so sudden that Kitaro is actually thrown off balance and falls onto his backside. Nezumi backs away yelling.

"OI! OI! What do you think you're doing?!"

Kitaro jumps up to his feet and screams out; his voice breaking with frenzied sadness.

"NEZI! Please, tell me that I didn't destroy another village! I can't be forgetting the past!"

Kuchisake, who had already ran to the scene when Kitaro grabbed Nezumi, stood a few feet behind Kitaro, anxious to see what would happen.

Nezumi Otoko stares at the boy and then clarity flashes on his features.

"Oh. You mean you finally remember what happened in that village. I thought you just chose to forget it. Does this mean you'll remember the other stuff too?"

Kitaro felt like his breath has been kicked out of his lungs as a numbing coldness rests on his body like falling snow.

It really was all true.

A million thoughts are slamming around his skull like waves. Threatening to drown him and he was. He could not breathe. The world began to spin and unwind. Everything looked blurry and unfocused like a grainy photo. His legs felt like cooked noodles, not able to keep him standing. He felt himself fall, but he never hit the ground. Kuchisake had caught him. She was saying something, but the thudding of his heart and cacophony of his thoughts made her voice sound quiet.

"Kitaro, tell me what you see."

"What……"

"Just tell me about your surroundings."

Kitaro started to look around, trying to focus his vision.

"I see the well, you, grass, the mountains with snow on top. I see Nezi, Ido……" With each object he described, Kitaro's heart slowed down and his thoughts became less deafening. When he felt like he could breathe again, he looked up at the faces around him. Kuchisake was cradling him and looking at him with motherly concern, Nezumi Otoko was crouched on the ground a good distance away, staring at him with a mixture of confusion and fear. Ido was looking at him with what Kitaro thought was concern but he was proven wrong when he said "It shouldn't have taken you this long to notice. But you know what they say, better late than never."

Kuchisake sighed in annoyance. "Aren't you capable of showing even a little bit of human empathy?"

Ido Sennin took out his still smoking pipe and said.

"Nope. Stopped feeling that ages ago." Kuchisake was about to make another mean retort but was stopped when she felt Kitaro shiver. The blood had completely gone from his face and his body felt damp with sweat. He was shaking like a leaf while whimpering softly. "Are you okay, kitaro? Are you having another attack?" She asked, resting his head on her lap. "Ugh. I don't feel so good. My stomach hurts and my head is spinning." he said. Ido approaches the boy while snatching one of the buds from Nezumi's bag. "I have just the thing to cure that." Kuchisake glares at Ido. "Ohhh, No. You're not getting him high."

Ido replied

"You know that it's not just for that. I'll just give it to him in a tea and it will calm him down. Just look at him. He needs it after all we just told him and he'll probably need it again later." Kuchisake opened her mouth to reply, but stops when she hears Kitaro groan. Suddenly, he sat up and clutched his stomach as a wave of nausea washed over him; his one eye clamped shut in pain. He pressed his mouth into a tight thin line as he felt his gut gurgle ominously. Kuchisake asked with dread in her voice, "Please tell me your not going to be sick."

Kitaro nodded furiously.

"Shit. Alright, you win, you old pot head. Give it to him."

"Thought so. "

The old man started to walk back to his house. But then Kuchisake jumps from her kneeling position, grabs his shoulder ,and spins him back around.

"Wait a minute. Where do you think your going?"

"To make this into tea, what else?"

"But he's going to chuck now! Can't you just give him the leaf just like that."

Kitaro took in deep breaths in an effort to calm down his churning stomach.

"No, you dumb ass. First of all you don't give medicine to a person who is about to vomit, it will just be a waste of herb. Secondly, it doesn't work unless its heated. "

His efforts proved to be useless when he felt his stomach lurch violently.

"We don't have time to heat it. Can't you do something now?"

While the two argued, Nezumi Otoku tried to bring their attention back to the boy who was now running over to a group of odd looking plants.

"Uh…..guys."

They continued.

"You need to learn patience you old hag."

"Who you calling a hag, you bug eyed prune!"

"Guys……"

"Plastic surgery barbie fail!"

"Shit smelling fungus face!"

"Witchy old bag!"

Nezumi had enough so he yelled,

"OI!!!!!! Stop arguing you fools. He's going to-"

Nezumi Otoku's scream was cut short by a horrible sound.

The group turned to see the poor boy barfing in Ido's garden. Kuchisake starts to head over to help him, but stops when a horrible acrid aroma invades her nostrils.

"Uch! What smells like burnt skunk?"

Nezumi pipes up from behind her.

"I tried to tell you! Kitaro's stomach acid is extremely powerful. It's been known to burn anything it touches." Nezumi Otoko then looked over to Ido with caution "Uhhhhh. Ido sama, isn't that your...?"

Ido's bulbous eyes widen even further when he realized what Nezumi was getting at.

"NOOOOOOOO! MY KUSH!!!!!!!!!!!!"


	4. Chapter 4

Back in the hut, the four yokai calmly sat around the fire pit in the middle of the room. Kitaro cautiously sipped his tea as Kuchisake onna tenderly rubbed his back; and Nezumi Otoko snacked on a day old hamburger, while Ido sat in the corner of the room grumbling with a sour scowl. The boy sighs in relief as the warm liquid quells his aching stomach. This tea was amazing. He's had tea for stomach aches before but it had never worked this quickly. But he still felt warm with shame as he looked over to the still vexed well hermit. "I'm really sorry about your plants, Ido sama." he said. Ido let out a mad breath as he brought up his pipe to his lips. "You're lucky that I saved most of them. I would have turned you inside out if you had messed up my Purple Ice. But still, that was my Blue Dream you just ruined."

"Huh?"

Blue Dream is a hybrid strain that many use for creativity. Most writers and artist would kill for it. But the one I gave you is called ACDC, its more of a reliever for stress and anxiety.``

The boy stared at the old yokai in confusion. "What in the world is this old man talking about?"

Ido noticed Kitaro's perplexed expression and asked. "Do you know what I'm talking about?"

Kitaro shook his head.

"Eh." Ido said as he shrugged his shoulders and silently smoked his pipe. Kuchisake frowned as Ido continued to smoke; He obviously wanted to avoid this discussion. "Aren't you going to tell him what you gave him?"

"Why bother? If he knows he'll freak out."

Kitaro, having a feeling that this was another piece of shocking news, asked.

"If I know what?"

Kuchisake pointed to the cup.

"That you are drinking cannabis tea."

The boy stared at the cup of brown liquid, trying to find anything out of the ordinary.

"Oh, for kami's sake! The tea has marajaunna in it." She said in annoyance.

Kitaro dropped the cup to the wooden floor in surprise. It landed upright but still splashed some liquid on to the floor.

Ido's arm shot out to steady the cup. "Oi, Don't spill it! I don't need you wasting any more of my good grass!" He shouted. Kitaro, appalled and angry shouted back. "You drugged my tea!? This is

what you meant by calming me down!" Ido snorts. "Relax. That plant you just drank is much more harmless than those nasty cigarettes you smoked before."

Kitaro stood up from his spot.  
"That stuff is poison for the mind. First, I'll lose the will to do anything, then I'll get stupider and start eating like a pig. Then I'll start losing my mind and my father will find me running after pink elephants." Kitaro said as he started to rub his temples and pace around anxiously. Ido face palms as Kuchisake tries to calm the boy down.

"I worry for the youth of today."

Nezumi Otoku, who was watching Ido and Kitaro's humorous exchange, laughed and said. " You mean to tell me that you believe all that garbage the humans say? That's all a load of nonsense that their governments came up with to boost the sales of cigarettes and beer. You're so gullible, Kitaro."

The boy turned to Nezumi Otoko in anger as he said. " Stay out of this. I know that marjuanna is bad for you because Tou-sa…." Kitaro stopped. An uneasy silence fell on the hut as the three yokai gazed at the floor. All except Ido who turned his gaze to kitaro as he said. " Because your father told you so, right?"

Kitaro nodded quietly.

Then he walked over to Ido, who had his cup of tea, and took it from him without another word. He sat down and downed it in one big gulp. Kuchisake walked over to the boy and sat down beside him. After a minute, she asked. "So what are you going to do?"

Kitaro toyed with the tea cup. "I don't know."

Ido chimed in. "The way I see it you have two choices. Go back to your father and live in ignorance again or let your birthday come and go and age like a regular yokai boy." Kitaro stares at the white cup in his hands. What should he do? So much had happened to the boy in one day and he could not quite wrap his head around it. His father kept him a child for 50 years without his knowledge. What could one say to that? He didn't want to feel angry at his father but he could feel it rising up within him like a geyser. "How can he do this to me? Why? What am I going to do? '' His thoughts were interrupted by a hand kneading his shoulder like bread dough. He looked over to Kuchisake, who's brow furrowed as she carefully thought something over. "If you wish, you could come live with us, Kitaro. You don't have to go back to your father if you don't want to." Kitaro gasped slightly. He could go live with Kuchisake and his mother. "But can I really leave my father? Can I try to fix this?" He thought. "Thank you, Kuchisake- San. But I think I can reason with my father. Maybe I can get him to let me visit mom." Her heart melts in her chest when she hears this. Kitaro had so much faith in his father, but that made her want to beat his little bastard of a father even more. The poor boy had no idea how far his father went to keep this secret. Kitaro reaches for the kettle to serve himself more tea. " I'll talk with Tou-san later tonight." he says. Ido stops his hand. " I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Why not?"

"One cup is enough to make you feel loose, but if you had another then you'd probably never leave my house. Which is something I don't want to happen."

Kuchisake asks. "When is it supposed to kick in?"

" For humans it takes 45 to 90 minutes. For yokai, since our digestive systems are different, usually 25 to 30 minutes. So you should stay here for a little bit."

Kitaro asks, sheepishly. "So am I going to start seeing the walls melting soon?"

"Good kami, I need to teach you how weed works! Your stupidity is starting to give me an aneurysm!" Ido says, rubbing his head in frustration.

….

Kitaro did not get home until early evening. Ido was right when he said that one cup was enough. All his anxiety and worries were gone for a couple of hours. His body was floating on a cloud of peace and warmness that seemed to shine from the sun. In fact he was so happy that he could not stop giggling. He giggled at Nezumi and Ido fighting again and even more so at the way Kuchisake told them to shut up. It just felt so good to laugh. But most of those good feelings left by the time Kuchisake walked him to the treehouse. She promised she was going to stay close by in case he needed her. She wished him good luck and disappeared into the shadows of the woods, leaving Kitaro to approach the tree house alone. As he climbed up the last few rungs, he stopped for a moment at the curtain that served as the door.

"What am I going to say?"

He didn't have time to think of his answer when he heard: "Oi, is that you Kitaro?" Kitaro takes a deep breath before walking inside. His father was lying on a magazine; From what Kitaro could see, he was reading another health article. The boy walks past his father as he asks how his day went. Kitaro says a clipped, "Fine."

For the next hour, father and son are silently going about their own business. Oyaji continues to read his magazine while Kitaro busies himself with reading letters from the mailbox.

Or he at least tries to read them.

Kitaro finds his mind constantly wandering; It feels like his mind is moving at high speed, causing the words to go out of focus. He knew that he had to say something to his father, but what? His words felt like there were huge globs of peanut butter stuck in his throat. He just couldn't get them out. He knew that he had to bring up the subject to his father tactfully. Carefully ask oyaji about everything he had been told. But deep down, the boy felt like getting into his father's face and screaming. He wanted to shoot out his rage like his finger guns; To show his dad how much this treachery had hurt him. "I need a drink." he thought as he sat up and walked over to the tea kettle in the corner. As Kitaro pours his drink, Oyaji watches him with concern. He's never seen Kitaro act so coldly to him before. He looked so tense and angry like it was all he could do to keep from exploding.

And Oyaji was right; Kitaro felt like he was about to explode.

His heart beat in his chest like a clock counting down to detonation. Every nerve in his body flared with heat; Sweat dripped from his brow. While the boy fought for control of his emotions, the cup in his hand began to heat up. Kitaro did not notice the cup getting hotter and hotter; The water starting to boil in his hands. But his father did see the odd phenomenon. He jumps up from his relaxed position in alarm. "Kitaro your water!" he shouts. Kitaro snaps out of his thoughts just in time to see the water hissing and steaming in his hand. He drops it with a yelp; The cup falling to the floor with a crash, spilling the still hot water. Kitaro and his father are quietly staring at the smashed cup remains. The boy drops down to the floor and starts picking up the pieces of broken glass. Oyaji stares at Kitaro with a look of dread and shock. "Kitaro….. How did you do that?" he asks, numbly. The boy, not looking at his dad, mumbles, "I….don't know." And it was true. He didn't know how he

did that. He didn't know his powers could do that. Then he remembers Kuchisake's words on his magical side. Was this what she meant about his energy being used in different forms? Then Oyaji starts to run over to the left corner of the hut by the window. He stops at a spot and starts to pry up a loose floorboard that Kitaro didn't know was there before. " Tou-san? What are you…?" His question was cut off. "Don't worry, Kitaro. I know how to fix this." Oyaji says, bringing together some mysterious herbs and liquids up from the hiding place. His question is answered as Oyaji pours and mixes all the spices and liquids into a worn wooden bowl. The odd mixture turned a sickly greenish gray as Oyaji stirred it with a long wooden spoon. A sweet acrid smell that reeked of old candy and hot garbage made him pinch his nose in disgust. It was the most sickening thing he ever smell, but it was also the most familiar.

Kitaro's stomach drops to the floor. "Is that what I think it is?" he thought.

Oyaji looks over to his son as he is stirring the concoction. "My son, go lie down. This balm will cure that little problem of yours." Kitaro takes a step back as he says, "I don't need it."

Oyaji looks at Kitaro, his one eye narrowing. "Kitaro. Go lie down, now." Once again Kitaro shakes his head. His father stops stirring and picks up the spoon from the mixture. A huge glob of balm sticks to the spoon. "This is medicine, Kitaro. I'm just going to rub it on your head." Kitaro takes another step back to the door. "I don't want any. I'm not sick." he says, his nerves on tingling. Oyaji stamps the spoon handle on the floor making Kitaro jump. "Stop acting like a baby and come here!" he said, in a disapproving tone. Oyaji starts to walk over to him causing Kitaro to back up against the wall and scream,

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Oyaji stops in his tracks in surprise. " Kitaro, What's wrong? This isn't like you." The half yokai boy's body shook with anger. "I know what that shit really does. You can't hide it any longer." he said through clenched teeth.

Oyaji gasps.

The pupil of his father's eye shrunk as he realizes that his son now knows his secret. His silence causes the bubble of rage boiling in Kitaro's chest to burst. "YOU LIED TO ME! ALL THIS TIME I THOUGHT YOKAI STAYED THE SAME BUT THEY DON'T. YOU TOLD ME THAT I WAS PURE YOKAI BUT I'M NOT. EVERYTHING YOU TOLD ME ABOUT MY LIFE, MY PAST, AND…..My mom….WAS ALL A LIE!" he screams, tears flowing down his cheeks. Oyaji quietly puts down the spoon as he walks over to his son, as the latter shuts his eye tight, trying to keep himself from sobbing. The small eyeball came up to his son's foot and hugged his ankle. Kitaro opens his eye and looks down to his father, his heart fluttering in his chest. Then he hears his father say,

"Internal electricity."

The boy screams out as a powerful shock shot through his entire body. His vision explodes into a fireworks show as he slumps to the floor in a heap. He moaned in pain as he tries to focus his one good eye on his father as the latter walks back to the spoon with the big clump of potion on it. " It will all be alright, Kitaro. You need to understand that I'm trying to protect you. You need to stay my little boy so I can do that for you." his father says as he picks up the spoon. Kitaro struggles to move, trying to drag his body to the door. But his movements are slow as a snail and every muscle in his body hurts. His father walks up to his son's face. Kitaro looks at his father in fear.

Please don't do this. Tou….

The eyeball holds the spoon out in front of him as he gets closer. "It will all be over with soon, my son." he says, his sweet tone masking his intentions.

No.

The odd heat returns to his hands.

No.

It travels up his arms.

No.

His heart starts to beat even faster; the heat now travelling through every nerve in his body, giving his stunned body new strength.

No.

He slowly lifts his torso off the floor. His father runs towards the boy, wielding the kitchen utensil like a spear. "Kitaro! Lie down!" he commands. The boy glares at him with powerful red eyes.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Kitaro voice rings throughout the house like a sonic boom causing it to shake violently. Objects fly off from the shelves, some were thrown against the wall with a crash while others flew around in mid air. The boy's howl reaches an ear-bleeding pitch, causing Oyaji to fall to his knees. Whatever constituted as ears for him were now being ripped apart by his son's sharp screams. He tries to stay awake, but then succumbs to sweet unconsciousness and drops the spoon to the floor. The salve burned into the wood the moment it touched the floor. Kitaro stopped screaming; His head spinning and his body more exhausted than ever. His eye lands on the unconscious form of his father. "Huuh….?" He starts to crawl over to Oyaji when Kuchisake leaps into the room. "What the hell happened!?" she shouts. Then her eyes landed on the knocked out eyeball amid the chaos of the now messy hut. Her mouth goes slack. "Holy shit! What did you do?" she asks, eyes darting around at all the mess. Before Kitaro could answer, they both heard the voices of the Sunake-baba, Neko Musume, Konaki Jiji, and Ittan momen.

They were headed towards the house.

"Shit! We gotta go!" Kuchisake says, her voice lowered to a whisper yell. Without even missing a step, Kuchisake picks Kitaro up and leaps out the window. She hits the ground running as fast as she can from the house. When she gets to the woods of Gegege forest, she suppresses both her and Kitaro's aura. Then she uses some other techniques to vanish from sight as the Gegege crew ran inside the hut, unaware of what had been changed forever.


	5. Chapter 5

Update Progress;

Hey, everyone. I just wanted to clear a few things up when it comes to updating. I'm currently a student and my end of the semester tests are coming up, so you might not here from me during this month. The good news is that I'm going on break during the summer, so I'll update more frequently. I really appreciate the patience and support from you, readers. When I first started this story, I didn't know nor care if anyone would read it and like it. I just had this head cannon in my head and it just needed to come out. So when I saw all of your supportive comments, I was overjoyed. Now, because of you guys I can finish this story with a happy heart.

For anyone that is confused about the story line, have a brief recap:

Kitaro finds out through a encounter with Kuchisake onna that he has forgotten a lot of events in his life and that his mother is still alive. When he confronts his father about it, oyajii avoids the discussion with hostility, leading kitaro to go seek answers from Kuchisake. He finds out that a sinister incident happened back when he was younger that caused him to lose control of his powers and massacre an entire village.( If anyone's read Kitaro night tales or seen the show hakaba kitaro, then you know that back then kitaro one time caused a whole village to be flooded. I was always interested in how kitaro went from impish little creep to the adorable little hero. I figured that some major traumatic event happened in his past to change him.) Young kitaro has a breakdown and his father seeks a way to erase that moment from Kitaro's mind. He finds someone that can give him a potion that erases memory. How the spell works is that oyajii has to apply the balm on kitaro ever year on his son's birthday. The potion will erase a majority of kitaro's memories which is why kitaro doesn't recognize most yokai. In exchange the spell keeps kitaro young since his mental state is staying somewhat the same. His subconscious hides some of his more important memories. Oyajii agrees to this; He wants kitaro to stay his little boy forever and not leave him. After having that bomb droped on him, kitaro goes back home to confront his dad, all hell breaks loose, and now Kuchisake is a fugitive kidnapper.

Wooooo. I think thats it.

Stay tuned for future updates!


	6. Chapter 6

The chill night air combed through her hair as she leaped from building to building. Her labored breath cam out heavy and smoky as the breeze iced her lungs. Normally, she would be moving faster and be less out of breath, but tonight she's carrying a heavy weight. She looked down at the face of the boy in her arms. His pale face was drenched in sweat and his expression looked somewhat troubled. "The boy overexerted himself back there. He has a lot of power, but it seems to be restless and unstable. Probably from being stunted for so long." She looked away from him to see where she was going. Their modest apartment came into view and she landed on top on its roof. She shimmied down to their balcony and pushed aside the sliding glass door that led into their home. The apartment was a very simple two-bedroom space that had a large sitting room. She set Kitaro down on the futon that was placed in front of the widescreen Tv. On the long dark futon, Kitaro looked small and frail as he curled up on the soft mattress. She sighed as she looked over to the bright red digits of the VCR.

11:52 Pm.

She investigated the open master bedroom to her left; It was empty. _"She's out pretty late tonight." _Kuchisake thought as she walked over to the fridge, Her throat scratchy with thirst. She opened the fridge, bathing the cabinets behind her with pale yellow light, and removed a half empty jug of cranberry juice. She took the jug with her to the couch and sat down on the cushy arm of the futon. _"Fuck it." _ She chugs the juice down greedily as red liquid dribbles from her mouth, cascading down her pale neck. When she is done, Kuchisake squeezes the neck of the bottle, as the full weight of the situation comes down on her.

"_I just kidnapped Kitaro. The… Gegege No Kitaro. Oh, my God. This is so fucking bad." _She runs her hands through her hair, nervously. _"This is just fantastic. This is just the most perfect way to get Kitaro back to Iwako. Kidnap the boy in the dead of night, wreck his home, and leave his father's unconscious body at the front door. What was I smoking to think this was a good idea?! Oyajii is probably sending out that flying loin cloth to find him rig…."_

Kuchisake gasps and stands up.

"Shit." she hisses aloud.

She double checks the boy's aura, her hands glowing a deep red. The suppression spell was still strong on Kitaro and herself. Relief floods her tired body as she flops back down on the arm of the futon. _"Ok…. Let's calm down and find a solution to this. Oyaji probably lied to his friends and most likely told them that I'm going to kill him. Would this have changed if I had stayed at the hut to explain. Of fucking course not! They would have seen a knocked out Kitaro and Oyaji and blamed me for it. So, I was screwed either way. Terrific."_ She sighs heavily and leans her head against the wall. "_What am I going to do?" _She thought.

She looks over to the sleeping boy, who is whimpering quietly with a troubled frown on his face. "_He must be having a nightmare. And after what just happened who can blame him?"_ She thinks as she gently caresses his hair. The gesture does nothing to comfort Kitaro as he whimpers more loudly.

_"Uuuuuhh…. What's happening?"_

He curls into a tight little ball; His body shivering violently as the boy starts to quietly sob. "Oh, crap! Why isn't this working? It worked the last time." She says as she wrings her hands together. Then the sound of keys jingling echoes through the apartment as Kuchisake snaps her head to the front door. She races over to the door, yanks it open, and drags the woman behind it inside. "Ah, Kuchi- chan! What the hell?" shouts an irritated high voice. Kiuchisake pulls her dear friend to the futon and points to the boy. "Do something. My comforting skills are useless." she says as she stiffly stands like a statue. Iwako's brows furrow in confusion as she tries to identify the shape on the futon, but then her large eyes widen as she recognizes the crying. Crying that she was only able to hear once a long time ago.

Her boy.

Kuchisake watches as Iwako turns on the light switch by the futon; A sob escapes her lips when she sees his face.

Iwako's eyes well up with tears as she freezes in place.

"Kitaro?"

Said boy was still mumbling and crying in his sleep, making sharp cries every so often. Iwako grabs him and cradles the young boy like a baby. Both son and mother's sobs ring through the apartment in unison; Mixed with the quiet whispers of Iwako.

"Its ok, baby. Its ok. Mama's right here."

Kitaro's cries begin to grow smaller as Iwako smiled through her tears of joy.

"He's here. He's really here. Kuchi, if this is a dream please don't wake me up." She says her voice shaking. Kuchisake smiles tenderly, tears itching to escape her eyes at the touching scene. "No. Its not a dream. Your son is here." she says putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. Iwako let out another happy sob as she hugged her son tightly, smooshing her face into his neck. She was finally holding her baby after 50 years. She breathed in deeply, wanting to take in her son's sweet scent that she had never gotten a chance to smell. Kuchisake watches this motherly moment trying to keep from crying. Iwako had been waiting for this moment for an extremely long time. Every time Iwako talked about her son her eyes would get misty and faraway, like she was looking to something she would never have. Iwako looked up from her son and asked: "How did you…...?" Kuchisake bit her lip nervously as she remembered the current big problem. "Ehhhhh…. About that…." she stumbles as her hands wring themselves. Iwako gives Kuchi a disapproving look, showing off where Kitaro got his stern look from. "You didn't hurt Medama did you?" She asked. Kuchisake briskly replies

"No. I didn't. But all long story short. I told kitaro. Showed him proof. He wanted to confront his dad, which I let him. Then magic bursts from the hut, and I find the both unconscious. Now, we are probably wanted criminals." Iwako mouth falls open as she tries to process what she was just told.

"What?"

"Yeah, it took me a while to process all of that too. All I know is we have the Gegege crew hunting us down and I need solutions." Kuchisake says, stress making her pull her face down. Iwako puts down her sleeping son then turns her attention to her roommate.

"Was that magic burst Medama's?" She asks seriously.

"I did sense a tiny bit of yokai power that I think was Oyaji's. It felt stiffer and more uniform than mage energy. But I do know that the big burst was Kitaro's. When Kitaro went back home to talk to his dad I stayed by the forest boundary. So, I was still faraway when I sensed a smaller energy burst and went to check on them. Then I heard a loud scream and a big burst of mage energy almost blew me off my feet. I know for a fact that was Kitaro's voice and his power. So, I ran to the hunt and found them both unconscious." Suddenly a sharp cry of pain causes both women to turn to Kitaro. Iwako rushes over and starts to remove his clothes to check for injuries "Kuchi-chan, get the first aid kit." says Iwako. Kuchisake obeys. And when she returns, she gasps when she sees the ugly red burn marks on kitaro's body. The blistering, red flesh created a zig zag pattern that was reminded her of lightning bolts. There was a particularly bad burn on his left ankle. A bloody dark spot that was in the shape of a small body. Both women had varying degrees of reactions. Iwako stared in shock while Kuchisake's aura flared and her eyes turned red with black pupils. _"That fucking little twit. His own son!?"_ Suddenly, Iwako stood up and walked briskly into her room. Kuchisake lowers her aura, chiding herself for being so careless. Iwako returns with bandages and a plethora of ointments and vials of potions. She sets them down and begins to treat her son's burns, all the while keeping a blank emotionless face. Kuchisake watches as she applies ointments and liquids to the singed skin; Not having any idea on what to do with herself. She has been with Iwako long enough to know to never disturb her when she was in her focused state. Kuchisake first saw this side of Iwako when the former found out where her son was and went over to talk to Oyaji. When she came back, her face was pale, blank, and emotionless. Kuchisake asked her what had happened and Iwako told her that Oyaji forbade her from setting even a foot in the forest or from ever seeing their son. Kuchisake foolishly chided her for being so soft on her bastard husband and asked why she was so forgiving to him. Kuchisake remembered that look on Iwako's face as she gently pushed her aside to go to her workshop in the spare closet. Behind those glassy cold eyes was a rage and sorrow that Kuchisake had never seen before on Iwako's features. It was then that her friend worked tirelessly on analyzing the spell on the hair sample that Kuchisake had brought back a month earlier. She didn't leave the room for almost a month before Kuchisake convinced her to rest. It was then that Kuchisake realized that Iwako wasn't being naively forgiving. This woman was harboring a raging storm within her heart; A storm that was growing more violent and dark. She was holding it in because deep down, she still cared for Oyaji. But the actions that he was taking in order to get what he wanted; Those would be the ruin of him because woe to the man who would have to deal with the furry and sorrow of a mother forbidden to see her child. Kuchisake was so deep into her own thoughts, that she jumps when Iwako suddenly stands up and walks to her room. Kuchisake follows her, seeing her grab a large suitcase and throwing her clothes in.

"Iwako-san what are you doing?" Kuchisake asks.

"We need to leave." Iwako replies still focusing on the task of packing.

"Where do we go?"

"Kuchisake, we need to leave Japan. At least until Kitaro's birthday. That's just in two days. But we can't stay here."

"Is he really going to take it this far? Is Medama really going to fight us just to keep Kitaro a child forever?"

Iwako, still walking around and collecting essentials, says "Medama has already hurt Kitaro to keep him like this. I fear he will commit far more dangerous acts if we stay here."

"So, it's official then?"

Iwako stops in her tracks. "What?"

Kuchisake walks up to her friend and puts a hand to her shoulder. Iwako was a few inches shorted then Kuchisake, so she looks down into her friends deep black eyes. "I know that you've been waiting for Oyaji to have a change of heart. Despite everything he has done to you, you still had hope that he would love you again and let you back into the family."

Iwako's stern black eyes began to well with tears as she looked down to the floor.

"Why, Kuchi? Why does me hate me so much? I just wanted to do the right thing. I wanted us to truly live. But…" Iwako voice cracks with sorrow. Kuchisake makes a move to hug her, but Iwako walks away to the bathroom and starts to gather all the supplies. She turns to face Iwako, her eyes burning with determination and resolve. "Now, it's clear to me what I need to do. No one should ever have their chance to change taken away."

Kuchisake nods, smiling proud. While she knew her friend to be bright, optimistic, and even a little goofy. She knew that under that front was a woman full of strength and courage; And woe to anyone that got in her way.

"It's about time you started taking some action." Kuchisake says, as she walks back to her room to also start packing. A half an hour later, the two women prepare to leave for St. Augustine, Florida. Iwako told Kuchisake that she had a close friend there that would let them stay in her home. "She told me that I could stay at her hotel at anytime as payment for helping her out that one summer." Iwako said as she was rummaging through her closet, looking for something. Kuchisake sat on the bed next to a bundled up Kitaro, who looked like a snoozing caterpillar. Their bags were placed neatly in front of the bed. They all were waiting for Iwako to find what she needed, so they could leave. Kuchisake tapped her fingernails on the handle of her suitcase, anxious to get out of Japan as soon as possible. "Ok, whatever it is your looking for, we'll just buy it when we get there." Kuchisake said, nervously. Iwako looked back at Kuchisake with a strange device in hand. "Will the Walmart down the street have a Tele-Crank?" Iwako replied with a smirk. Kuchisake stared at the rare tool in surprise. "How did you get that?" she asked. "Well, I did a few errands for a very egotistical wizard and as payment he gave me this. You're not going to believe what else he tried to offer. He actually told me that he would be my husband. Needless to say, I just accepted the Tele Crank."** (Think of the device from Howl's Moving Castle As in the weird crank on the door that could take the castle to new places. And yes, the wizard that Iwako is talking about is Howl. He isn't important to the story, but I thought it'd be funny to give him a nice cameo.)** Kuchisake rolled her eyes in disgust as Iwako attached the device to the door of the closet. She closed it and clasped her hands around the device; Eyes closed in concentration. Kuchisake felt the air change as the Tele- Crank glowed a warm orange. Her hair stood on end as waves of power emanated from the device; The waves pulsated to the beat of her own heart like breakers on a beach. The black dial on the device shifted into two colors, ocean blue and seafoam green. The air then went still as the glow died down and Iwako stepped away from the door with a smile. "Alright gang, the crank's been set, so let's blow this joint." Iwako said as she walked over to the bed and grabbed her two bags. She was about to grab Kitaro but then Kuchisake blocks her. "Please, let me. You have more bags then I do." Kuchisake says as she picks up the boy and tosses him over her shoulder, grabbing her small suitcase with her other hand. Iwako scrunched up her face in disapproval. "Kuchi, he's a child not a sack of potatoes. Hold him." She says, miming a cradling motion with her hands. Kuchisake stares at her in confusion. "Never mind. Let's go." Iwako says with a sigh as she walks toward the closet door. She opens the door and the trio is greeted by the hot humid air, chirping crickets, and croaking frogs. They walked through the door into the humid grass lands, shutting the door behind them.

….

Through the darks of his eyelids, Kitaro's eyes slowly cracked open. Then he shut them again and groaned as a bright ray of sunshine pierces them. He rubs the sleep from his eyes as he glances down.

_"What the….!"_

This wasn't his bed. This wasn't even his house. His eyes scanned around the room; The curtains were a sheer-lace combination; The wallpaper was a soft cream color with lines of pink roses. A cream-colored dresser with a large plain mirror was at his left and a deep chestnut brown wardrobe was to his right. The bed he was lying in was a large western style bed with white sheets and a red duvet. _"Where am I? How did I get here? What's going on?"_ Kitaro thought as he jumped from his bed and looked out the window. His sight was greeted with nothing but green as trees dresses in odd looking gray wisps. The air felt heavy and damp like a wet blanket, making his face feel sticky. A sinking feeling grew in Kitaro's stomach.

"This…. This isn't…. Kuchisake, I need to find her."

Kitaro raced to the door and threw it open, only to fall back as he hits something that lets out a surprised squeak.


	7. Chapter 7

"Lord have mercy! You done scared the bejeezus out of me!"yelled a high voice with in an accent that seemed to draw out the sounds of certain words. Kitaro rubbed his sore bottom as he looked up at the speaker. A young tall foreign woman stood in the door way trying her best to scrape off the remains of eggs and sausage grease from her dress. She had skin that was coffee colored and long black hair twisted into a multitude of thin locks. She was wearing a plain blue dress with an apron tied at the waist. Kitaro marveled at her for a moment. He knows that people outside of Japan have many different skin tones and heights but he's never seen a woman like this in person. She was so tall; It should have been intimidating but her brown eyes were so gentle and kind. It took him a second to realize that they had been staring at each other in silence for a few seconds. He turned away, embarrassed. "I'm sorr-" he began but he was interrupted.

"Oh. My. Stars. Your so cute!" she squealed. Then in one quick movement, she picked Kitaro up and hugged him close to her chest; She spun around like a top as she gushed out compliments in what he thought was english . " Awwwwwwww! Your cuter than a sugar stuffed teddy in Candyland. Let me get a good look atcha." She said as she cupped Kitaro's flustered face in her hands. He shivered at the her icy touch. " Awwww! Look at them gorgeous little eyes. Your just the spitin' image of ya mama. Oh, and your skins so soft! Ohhhhh! You just looking like the sweetest little honey bun I ever did see." She said as she stretched his cheeks. Kitaro try to mumble a reply, trying to say something to this strange woman with the weird accent. From behind her, he saw a familiar face in the hall; Her eyebrows frowning in disapproval. "Isabelle, put him down this instant!" scolded Kuchisake. Kitaro wiggled out of Isabelle's grasp. "Kuchisake! Where am I?! What happened to me?! Wheres Tou-" he babbled on but was once again interrupted by a suffocating bear hug from Isabelle. "Oh, don't ya worry, sugar foot. Everything gonna be just fine. We ain't gonna let your snake-in-the-grass of a daddy hurt ya. If he does, Imma hafta get my frying pan and give him a good ol' can of whoop-ass." Isabelle said as she ruffled his hair while still squeezing the life out of him. Kitaro tried to tell her to let go but all that came out was a muffled yell.

Kuchisake, fed up with her antics, yanked Kitaro out of the southern lady's grasp and yelled. " Damn it, Isabelle. That's enough! Can't you see you're making him uncomfortable." Isabelle started to pout, hurt from being scolded. But when she sees Kitaro looking troubled and flustered, her own face darkens in embarrassment. " Sorry about that, sweetie. I got a little carried away." Isabelle said, sheepishly. Kuchisake sighed as she turned to Kitaro. "I'm glad to see that your up. We were getting

worried." she said. Kitaro frowned. " What?... How long was I asleep? Where am I?" he asked. Kuchisake led him out into the hallway as she answered. " You've been asleep for 3 days. But that can be expected with the power that you let loose. And as for where you are, welcome to St. Augustine, Florida." Kitaro's eyes grew wide as he gasped. "Are you saying….." Isabelle came up from behind him with a smile as she said.

"Yep. Welcome to the U.S.A."

Kitaro stopped in his tracks; His mind struggled to keep up with everything.

He was in the States. He took a moment to look at his surroundings. He was in an old fashioned western style plantation home. The hallway was paneled with deep brown oak wood pannels that glimmered in bright sun coming from the crystal clear widows. The walls were lined with delicate cream colored rose wall paper. By each door lining the hall was a small table topped off vases full of vibrant flowers. They were on the second floor of this vast building; The delightful smell of breakfast wafted through the landing of the main floor and filled the whole house with its intoxicating aroma. Isabelle noticed the boy's wonder filled eyes and smiled with pride. " It looks nice huh? Redecorated this whole scrappy shack myself and I keep it all cleaner than a whistle too. Not bad work for a 150 year old dead girl, huh?" she said with a light giggle as she skipped into the air and just floated there. She kept on joyously tittering as she turned upside in mid air; Her body going from opaque to clear as she flew off downstairs. Kuchisake cleared her throat causing Kitaro to snap out of his shocked stupor. "Sorry about Isabelle. She may be a bit overwhelming but she means well. We're lucky that the hotel isn't too busy during this time. Lets go to the kitchen, I'm sure your starving." she said as she started to walk down the stairs with Kitaro following close behind. "What happened while I was out?" He asked.

" We'll fill you in eventually but for now there's someone who really wants to see you." She replied with a small smile; They had reached the bottom stairs by this time and were crossing the large foyer over to the kitchen. They opened up the wooden saloon doors and entered. Kitaro saw Isabelle flying around a modest size table dressed in a white laced table cloth, happily setting up silverware and pouring tall glasses of sweet tea. Across from her, a woman stood at a stove, orchestrating a chorus of sizzling sausages, eggs, and pancakes into a symphonic meal. From behind, Kitaro could see that she had short chestnut brown hair and was shorter than Kuchisake. She wore light blue jeans and a white shirt with red trim at the sleeves, collar, and bottom half. When she turned around he could see that she had a petite round nose, round face, and big deep black eyes that reminded kitaro of the night sky. He felt his heart flutter in his chest; a vague yet familiar feeling that made him feel warm inside. The woman stared at him for a moment in surprise but it quickly turned into a joyous smile. When she did that, Kitaro had this sudden urge to throw himself into her arms and not let go. There was silence between the two; It was as if the whole world had been put on mute and everything except the lady was out of focus. His face felt hot; Was the sun always this bright in the states? His palms felt damp and sweaty, his heart thudded in his chest like a jackhammer.

Was this his…?

"_She looks like me and she seems to know me. But is she really…"_

Kitaro starts to walk over to her; The sound of his bare skin slapping the floor broke the spell of silence over the room. "Are…..Are….Are yo…..Are you….? He stammered, struggling not to break out in tears. Iwako, still smiling with her shimmering eyes, replies:

"It's me, baby."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Kitaro ran over to his mother and threw his arms around her in a tight hug. When she hugged him back a muffled sob escaped his mouth. It surprised him at first but it felt good; His heart felt lighter and seemed to beg for more tears.

So he just let himself cry.

He can't even remember the last time he's cried like this. His mom just rubbed small circles in his back as her child wept.

Kitaro ravenously attacked his large plate of eggs, sausage, pancakes, and hashbrowns with the ferocity of a starving lion. All the while his mom and Kuchisake were filling him in on what happened while he was out. They were currently hiding out in the Castleblanca hotel in Florida until his birthday would come to pass. Then they would go back to Japan and clear matters up with his friends. Isabelle, his mother's friend, was nice enough to let them stay in her hotel until the heat died down. "Your Ma helped me outta a real jam, so y'all can stay as long as ya need to." Kitaro nodded and mumbled a word of thanks, his mouth sticky with syrup and full of food. Kuchisake looked at him with disapproval. "Kitaro, don't talk with your mouth full! Where are your manners! " She hissed. "Aw, Kuchi don't be such a sourpuss. Boy's had a long night and its right obvious that he's hungrier than a bear fore' hibernation." She said waving her hand and smiling while ignoring Kuchisake's glare. Kitaro, slightly embarrassed by his behavior, swallowed and bowed his head to Isabelle. "Thank you for having us, Isabelle-san." He said. "Your very welcome, sugarfoot." she replied. Then Isabelle took a sip of her sweet tea and frowned slightly. "I'll be right back." she said as she rose from her seat and flew off to the otherside of the hotel. Kuchisake sighed before she said.

"Now, I think we should talk about what we plan to do once we go back to Japan."

Kitaro looked down at his plate, somberly. " Well, When we get back, I can contact Neko Musume to meet us. Then I can explain the situation from there." he said

" And your absolutely sure this girl won't attack us once she sees us." Kuchisake asked suspiciously.

"Kuchi- chan, Kitaro has probably know Neko-san for years. If he trusts her than I think we can too." Iwako piped in.

"I'm just saying, Iwako. We have to be really careful with our trust. So far nothing has been what it seems."

Kuchisake tilted her head to Kitaro's ankle.

"Kuchi!" Iwako yelped hands flying to her mouth.

"It's ok, Oka-san. Kuchisake's right. We do have to be wary of who we trust. Which is why I think we should set up a meeting with Neko Musume. If I tell her not to bring Tou-san to the meeting then she'll do it. Because she trusts me."

Kitaro looked up from his plate to his mother. "When's my birthday, Oka-san?"

"Tonight at midnight."

He nodded and they all sat in heavy silence for a few moments. Suddenly Isabelle's head of curly hair pops out of the ceiling, causing Kuchisake to yelp in surprise and nearly fall out of her chair. "Did somebody say birthday?!" she yelled. Iwako looked up at the ghostly young girl as she said. "Yes, Izzy. Its Kitaro's birthday, he'll be turning thirteen yokai years tonight." The bubbly spirit squealed in delight and clapped her hands. "Oh, boy! We gonna have ourselves a party tonight! I can

bring out some ol' streamers and decorate the back with them nice Christmas lights. Oh, and of course I gotta make the cake. What's your favorite flavor, sweet pea? Vanilla, chocolate, marble, red velvet? Oh, I probably should make some other food, too. Maybe some chicken with yellow rice and black-" She rambled on as she flew around the kitchen, making a nice breeze in the hot kitchen. Kitaro stared at his mom in confusion. " Why do we need to have a party?" he asked. "Well, baby. Its because it's your birthday." she replied looking at her son with a perplexed expression." _Why would he ask that?" _she thought.

" I've never celebrated my birthday like that before."

" WHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!" screamed Isabelle and Iwako; their jaws practically hitting the floor. Iwako grabbed Kitaro's hand reflexively, causing him to blush. "Why not, honey?" she asked. Kitaro looked down, feeling a little flustered. He wasn't expecting this type of reaction. "Because… Because…. I never bothered to remember and…." He stuttered.

" _It just didn't feel right, did it?"_ he thought. Isabelle grabbed Kitaro's shoulders and turned him to look at her; Her eyes glittered with determination. " Kitaro, you gettin a party. And it will be the best damn party on this side of the sunshine state!" she said. Kuchisake leaned over to Iwako. " I don't know if this is a good idea. Would kitaro really want…..." she started.

"No, Kuchi. Isabelle is right. This party would be good for him. For all of us. I think we all need to take a breather."

"Yeah, girl. Everybody needs a break once in a while and that goes double for Kitaro. He may look like a tiny adult but he's just a kid. And y'all are talking about goin' back into the fray after comin' back from hell, already. Ya gotta slow ya roll!" Isabelle added. Kuchisake looked at Kitaro. Isabelle may have no sense of personal space and can get a little too excitable, but she did know how to remedy a tense situation. A nice little party was the perfect distraction from all this drama. So she nodded as she smiled. Isabelle claps her hands again. " "Then its settled then. It'll take a while to set up, so, Iwako, you take Kitaro into town and show him a good time. I'll text ya when everythings ready." Iwako clapped her hands excitedly. " This is going to be great! We have so much to talk about. We'll leave in about 10 minutes; I haven't had a chance to clean up from yesterday. Oh, that reminds me, one of the first things we have to do is get you some fresh clothes. The ones you have on have seen better days." she said as she poked one of many holes in kitaro's sleeve. He pulled away; Not wanting the hole to get bigger. "Ah, oka-san! You don't have to do that, I'll just patch it up. New clothes are expensive and I don't want to be a bother."

" Its no trouble at all, baby. Just think of them as part of your birthday present."

Kuchisake stooped down to evaluate the damage to the boy's uniform. She wrinkled her nose as an old and musty smell invaded her nostrils. "Ech, and these rags belong in the garbage anyway. They smell like old man and mold. How long have you worn this get up?"

" About 50 years."

A long silence fell over the kitchen.

"You've….. been wearing the same clothes for 50 years?" Iwako asked incredulously.

"I wash them every weekend." Kitaro replied defensively; His face flushing red.

Isabelle giggled as Kuchisake turned away in disgust mumbling something along the lines of " men are filthy…." Iwako got out of her chair. "That settles it. Our first stop is the thrift store. I'll be ready in 5." she said as she left the room.

Ten minutes later, Kitaro and his mom wave good bye to their friends as they stepped out on to the long white porch. The porch opened up to a large sandy court yard bordered by trees dressed in stringy gray moss. The air around him was heavy and stiff; His body felt like it was being squashed by a boiled slug. He grimaced as he wiped the sweat from his brow, feeling a headache beginning to start. _Good kami this heat is horrible. _" Hey, Kitaro! Over here!" shouted Iwako. Kitaro looked over to the left side of the yard. His mom, who now was wearing a thick black jacket, was waving him over to a bright green Vespa . She had two helmets in her hand; one was black and the other a soft pink. Kitaro walked over to his mom, eyes wide with surprise. "You…...own a motorcycle?" he asked. His mother smiled with pride as she nodded. "Surprised that your mamas a cool lady? This little baby has gotten me ot of some tough situations. I'll tell you all about it on the way there." She said as she tossed kitaro the black helmet. Iwako revved up her engine as kitaro got onto the back of the bike. The vespa gave a long satisfying purr as they zoomed off.


	8. Update chapter

Hey, everyone! I know I haven't updated in a while and you're probably thinking that I've abandoned this story. I haven't and I do intend to finish it, but I do have a confession to make... when I came up with this story, I didn't have an ending planned. Yes, I know, rookie mistake, but I was so excited to get this out. So I'm going to take some time to plan out this story and see where I want to take it. For now, I'm working on a webtoon fanfiction that has a solid ending. But fear not, I have not left our traumatized yokai boy in the dust. Thank you for your patience and support for this fanfiction. You all are fantastic beings


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